Chartered Psychologist Dr Mark Rackley kindly shares his insight with Lifestyle Health Hub…
It’s often been called ‘the winter blues,’ that time of year when the weather gets colder, the days get shorter, and we spend more time indoors. For some, this will be an easy transition, and they will adjust with no negative impact on their mental health. However, for others this adjustment can be a major challenge, and they can dread the coming of winter. These people may suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (also known as SAD).
What is SAD, what causes it and what can you do if you struggle with this?
We are all prone to reacting to changes in our environment, these can be both positive and negative. Stick us on a beach or on a ski slope and we can notice a dramatic change in how we feel and we often say ‘this is my happy place.’ With SAD, the change in environment does not make us happy, it has a negative impact on our mood and can make the day hard to face.
The symptoms of SAD can look like clinical depression; however, they are not the same. Some of the key features of SAD are: a persistent low mood, a loss of pleasure or interest in normal everyday activities, feeling irritable, feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness, low self-esteem and tearfulness. Some people will experience these more intensely than others. You should see a GP if you think you might have SAD and you’re finding it difficult to cope.
We do not know the exact reasons as to why people can struggle with SAD. Some of the working hypothesis that we have are linked to the lack of daylight that winter brings. Our internal body clock is linked to daylight, and we sleep and wake according to the cycle of day and night. With less light, we can become more sluggish and our body produces more melatonin which is our sleep hormone, so we may find ourselves wanting to sleep more and having less energy.
Another possible hypothesis is the lack of sunlight and Vitamin D. These are both linked to the production of serotonin which is a chemical in the brain that boosts our mood and gives us energy. With the lack of sunlight, we can find our mood is not as buoyant and we can struggle to enjoy our life as a result. The poor weather can also mean that we are spending more time indoors and are unable to enjoy outdoor activities as much. This can lead to a bit of ‘cabin fever’ as we struggle with not being able to get outside and do the things that we want to do.
SAD is something that is treatable and with some careful planning you can ensure that you are not too negatively impacted by the inevitable change in the seasons. So first things first, if you recognise that you are sensitive to SAD, then acknowledge that and get a plan in place. Here in the UK the winter is predictable so it will not come as a surprise that winter is rubbish weather and there is nothing we can do to stop that. We can’t change the weather, but we can change our attitude.
Make a plan as to what you will do to cope with and make sure you use your time wisely over the winter period. Try and get outside as much as you can. Plan to walk the dog, meet friends and do not isolate yourself at home. Yes the weather might not be pleasant but that does not mean we have to hibernate. Try and use the winter season to achieve a goal, learn that language, read that book, learn to knit, join that yoga class. Give yourself an enjoyable challenge that you can focus on during the winter.
Make your home environment a cosy place and see it as your haven from the poor winter weather. Doing so helps us look forward to coming home and after going outside we can then feel relaxed when returning home.
SAD can cause us discomfort, but something being uncomfortable is not the same as something being unbearable. You can bear this winter and you might surprise yourself, you may actually enjoy it!
Interestingly, Dr Alex George’s latest Stompcast episode centres around Mark discussing SAD – https://linktr.ee/stompcast, so tune in to hear more.
Dr Mark also has a mental health podcast that covers a wide range of topics called ‘I have Issues’ – https://drmarkrackley.com/podcast-i-have-issues/ – which is available on a range of platforms including Spotify. Again, well worth tuning in to!
